When you are here, you are here.
When you are gone, you are gone.
It isn’t a problem to be gone,
so long as you are really here
when you’re here.~Kent Nerburn~

I wasn’t going to write a post this morning, but then someone showed up in my morning email, and I invited him into my home. Yesterday I talked about the wonders of technology and here’s another example of why it’s great. I subscribe to a site called Inspiration Peak, which offers daily inspirational messages in the form of quotes by a variety of people from Buddha to Mel Brooks. This morning I was introduced to Kent Nerburn, who is a writer, sculptor and theologian. After reading the quotes which spoke to my heart and soul, I did a little research on the man – thanks to Google. He has written several books and they all sound interesting, but there are three that will be on my bookshelves soon. I was attracted to the titles and when I read the reviews on Amazon I knew I wanted to read them and have them around for inspiration when needed. The first one is called Simple Truths: Clear and Gentle Guidance on the Big Issues of Life. The first line of the book grabbed me – Life is a creative experience. The next one is The Hidden Beauty of Everyday Life. One of the reviewers quoted a few lines from the book: Our lives are filled with ordinary moments when the hidden beauty of everyday life breaks into our everyday awareness like an unbidden shaft of light. It is a brush with the sacred, a near occasion of grace. Too often we are blind to these moments. We are busy with our daily obligations and too occupied with our comings and goings to surround our hearts with the quiet that is necessary to hear life’s softer songs. Another sentence that got my attention was We become artists when we see with our hearts instead of our eyes from Small Graces: The Quiet Gifts of Everyday Life. I also read a review in which he was asked a question about his poetic style of writing and he said, I take the music of language quite seriously. Like a heartbeat, it exists right below consciousness but it animates and infuses your language with life. I eagerly look forward to reading these books for the inspiration to continue my quest to slow down, stay awake to the moments that make up my life, and never, ever take my life, or the people in it, for granted.

We may not all live holy lives,
but we live in a world alive
with holy moments.
~Kent Nerburn~

Remember to be gentle with yourself and others.
We are all children of chance and none can say
why some fields will blossom while others lay
brown beneath the August sun. Care for those
around you. Look past your differences. Their
dreams are no less than yours, their choices
no more easily made. And give, give in any way
you can, of whatever you possess. To give is to
love. To withhold is to whither. Care less for
the harvest than for how it is shared and your
life will have meaning and your heart
will have peace.
~Ken Nerburn~

Today I found a new teacher, a new source of inspiration, and I hope that you too are moved in some way by his words. Take time each day to surround yourself with quiet, and listen for life’s softer songs……